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Robert Seifert, MPA,of UMass Medical School’s Center for Health Law and Economics talked to GoLocalWorcesterabout how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will increase insurance options for Massachusetts residents, in part through federal subsidies.

As part of the ACA’s implementation, new health insurance marketplaces opened for business around the country, including in Massachusetts. The new marketplace provides residents with more options to find affordable health insurance, and will offer a one-stop-shop to determine eligibility for Medicaid, or for subsidies designed to make private health insurance more affordable -- particularly important for residents who don’t qualify for Medicaid or who get insurance through their employer.

“The people who remain on the high side of the spectrum are now going to be receiving these subsidies with the state supplement,” Seifert said. “The supplement will be ongoing. The state is able to do this because a lot of the money that was being spent on Commonwealth Care subsidies is now being replaced by federal money coming in.”